stave
pronunciation
How to pronounce stave in British English:
UK [steɪv]
How to pronounce stave in American English:
US [stev]
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- Noun:
- (music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written
- one of several thin slats of wood forming the sides of a barrel or bucket
- a crosspiece between the legs of a chair
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- Verb:
- furnich with staves
- burst or force (a hole) into something
Word Origin
- stave (n.)
- "piece of a barrel," 1750, back-formation from staves (late 14c.), plural of staff, with the usual change of medial -f- to -v- (compare leaves/leaf). The plural form possibly was in Old English but not recorded there.
- stave (v.)
- 1540s, "to fit with staves," from stave (n.). The meaning "break into staves" is from 1590s (with in from 1748, chiefly nautical, on notion of bashing in the staves of a cask). Past tense stove. Stave off (1620s), however, is literally "keep off with a staff," as of one beset by wolves or dogs. Related: Staved; staving.
Example
- 1. Changing that now may stave off bigger problems in the future .
- 2. Will u.s. consumers make the comeback we need to stave off another recession ?
- 3. This week 's euphoria assumed policymakers would manage to stave off economic trouble .
- 4. Can anything be done , apart from economic plans designed to stave off short-term disaster ?
- 5. Another , more pernicious , possibility is that countries would start to use trade barriers to stave off competition .